I was able to completely weightmap ancient M2 in two days.

Using Poser's backwards stone knives and bearskin style tools.

I also rigged many objects I modelled myself from scratch for Poser.

*

So I doubt that a "one-click-import" of <ZENSORED> game assets is what decides over Poser's future.

I really think we're talking about two completely different demographics here.

Of course Poser users are not a monolithic block, but looking at the various marketplaces, I don't think it is such a stretch to say that the majority of them are not up-and-coming "hungry" future CGI artists that just couldn't afford a full seat of MAX or Maya in the past.

(The serious ones among them would simply use a <ZENSORED> copy of said programms, anyway. Because there is no bigger tarnish for your reputation in "THE SCENE" than being caught using Poser or it's assets in your original artwork)

But just elderldy woman (and some elderly men, of course) that like to play with a virtual Barbie doll. The same clientele that otherwise would take up a Bob Ross painting course.

These were the "lifeblood" of Poser by spending their disposable income for Vicky's newest gladrags.

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Poser is for sickenly sweet fashion renders, often really afwul porn, kitschy folk art and maybe once in a while for telling a sincere story.

And there is nothing wrong with all that as long as it makes its users happy!

*

But trying to "elevate" Poser to be on par with its peers, to make it "respectable" and "cool", is killing it's spirit.

DAZ tried the same with Vicky, dreaming of making her the "Face of the Industry", by bringing her rigging and mesh design up to "modern standards", but eventually had to peddle back.

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Poser's greatest asset was always that it was so accessible to everyone.

You could just literally use it to play virtual dress-up-dolly with store bought poses, light, scenes, hair, clothes and even characters that were just dial spins.

No need to learn a gazillion arcane shortcuts or to browse through layers upon layers of GUIs.

Just a few knobs and dials and a few rooms.

But you even never ever had to leave the pose room to make a nice render and post it to the gallery

*

But the more complicated you make it, the more sophisticated everything gets, ("Photoreal" shaders, uber-complicated rigging),

the less inviting Poser becomes.

As I mentioned above, I just made a hybrid figure using M3RR's head on top of a remapped M2's body.

This took me just a few hours as both M3RR and M2 are very solid and simple figures.

With a "modern" figure with all it's unnecessary complications like "face chips" or a gazillion of "helper bones", I wouldn't even know where to start.

And even If I'd do, the chance of something going wrong would be a lot greater.

*

So, I don't think that Poser is heading into the right direction.

It might "move forward", but it already left most of it's clientele behind.

But, hey, that's (thankfully) not my decision to make.

I'm happy as long as my PP 2014 and Poser 11 work, as long as I can build stuff in Wings and as long as I can tinker around with all those old and obsolete figures lingering around in my hundreds of runtime folders.

If nothing else, we sure had a good run.